Europe

Europe

Genocide detainee Mladic undergoes surgery: lawyer

18 August 2011 17:46 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Former Bosnian Serb army chief Ratko Mladic has undergone surgery, the lawyer representing him against war crimes charges said on Thursday, and media reports said the former general had undergone a hernia operation, APA reports quoting Reuters.

Lawyer Branko Lukic said the detention unit of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) told him that Mladic had been scheduled for surgery and that Mladic called his wife after the operation was performed.

"I don’t know much of the details. I am informed the surgery went well," Lukic told Reuters.

Mladic, arrested in May and transferred to The Hague on charges of genocide and war crimes over the 1992-95 Bosnian war, has described himself as a "gravely ill" man and his lawyers have previously raised concerns about his health.

Worried by Mladic’s health, prosecutors proposed splitting the case against Mladic into two parts this week to speed up the trial and ensure a verdict is handed down.

The Yugoslavia tribunal denied media reports and comments from Lukic, however, that Mladic had been admitted to the Bronovo hospital near the court’s detention center, but declined to provide further details about his health.

The court added that Mladic had not left the detention center, where health facilities are also available.

"The rules specify that any life threatening situation must immediately be reported to the registrar. No such reports have been received regarding Mladic," spokeswoman Nerma Jelacic said.

Mladic is due to appear in court again on August 25 when the first status conference -- a part of regular pre-trial proceedings -- will take place.